People’s Liberation Army

A Chinese technology firm is testing a new attack drone specifically designed to help ground troops in street-level combat, in the hope that it can sell the unit abroad, reports say. Engineers recently completed a successful air-to-ground test firing exercise for the mini quadcopter named Tianyi, Modern Weaponry reported. The developer, Tianjin Zhongwei Aerospace Data System Technology, said the unmanned aerial vehicle had been designed to carry out both reconnaissance missions and close-range strikes against armored vehicles or individuals in an urban environment. “It is suitable for circumstances that include asymmetric combat, counterterrorism and special forces [operations] and street ba

Beijing has stationed troops in Hong Kong since 1997, after China regained control of the former British colony, but they are rarely seen outside of their barracks. But in their second high-profile appearance on the streets of Hong Kong in 22 years, People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers streamed out of their camps on Saturday to remove roadblocks set up by anti-government protesters. While not military in nature, the exercise served as a gentle warning to activists in the highly autonomous Chinese city who have grown increasingly confrontational in pressing their political demands, said Anthony Wong, a Macau-based military expert. Wearing shorts and holding brooms and buckets, about 50 sol